The mobile segment includes mobile- and feature phones released within the past 5 years. They have small screens and limited support for JavaScript and CSS due to limited processing power.

As of December 2017 this segment represents ~17% of the mobile browsers and ~8% of all browsers (across all device types). This segment is typically a lot larger in developing countries like India and Africa.

Browser requirements:

The mobile segment is defined by the following criteria:

  • Screen less than 3.5 inches or 320px
  • Primary input method is trackball/joystick/T9 keyboard
  • Browser supports the mobile segment requirements

The mobile segment supports the following features:

  • Basic JavaScript
  • Basic CSS

To develop successfully for this segment you have to keep it simple. Don't use animations or advanced styling. Keep DOM manipulations to an absolute minumum.